Verdura Pearls
1990s Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, Yellow Gold, Platinum
2010s Unknown Modern Beaded Necklaces
Citrine, Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver
1990s Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Multi-Strand Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, Quartz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Link Necklaces
Diamond, Black Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Cuff Bracelets
Citrine, Coral, Pearl, 18k Gold
1990s American Cuff Bracelets
Amethyst, Citrine, Jade, Pearl, Ruby, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Rope Necklaces
White Diamond, 18k Gold
1990s Italian Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Agate, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s European Modern Bangles
18k Gold, Enamel
Early 2000s American Art Deco Stud Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1970s Brooches
Chalcedony, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s French Cocktail Rings
Pearl, Tourmaline, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Post-War Cocktail Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Natural Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gol...
Early 2000s American Modernist Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, Quartz, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1930s French Byzantine Brooches
Amethyst, Pearl, Quartz, Gold, Gilt Metal, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Brooches
Crystal, Pearl, Silver, Rhodium
Vintage 1960s American Modernist Brooches
Chrysophrase, Coral, Malachite, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1980s American Brooches
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Drop Necklaces
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Art Deco More Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1920s American Art Deco Pendant Necklaces
Aquamarine, Diamond, Onyx, Pearl, Gold
20th Century French Modern Chain Necklaces
Coral, Yellow Gold
1990s French Blazers
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco More Bracelets
Diamond, Turquoise, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary French Contemporary Stud Earrings
Diamond, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s French Wedding Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
1990s American Drop Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1960s Italian Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Chain Necklaces
18k Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Artist Wrist Watches
Diamond, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Artisan More Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary French Link Necklaces
Diamond, Turquoise, 18k Gold
Recent Sales
21st Century and Contemporary Italian More Earrings
Pearl, Gold
Early 2000s American Clip-on Earrings
Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1970s American Contemporary Cuff Bracelets
Amethyst, Citrine, Jade, Pearl, Ruby
21st Century and Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Cuff Bracelets
Amethyst, Diamond, Pearl, Peridot, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Beaded Bracelets
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Platinum, White Gold
1990s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Platinum, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary More Earrings
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Black Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Carnelian, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Link Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Apatite, 18k Gold
20th Century Italian More Necklaces
Pearl, Gold
Late 20th Century Clip-on Earrings
Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Link Necklaces
Onyx, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Drop Necklaces
Sapphire, South Sea Pearl, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Multi-Strand Necklaces
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Cuff Bracelets
Agate, Coral, Pearl, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Pearl, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Beaded Necklaces
Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl, Diamond, 14k Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary More Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Yellow Gold
2010s American Contemporary Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Platinum
Late 20th Century Link Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Chain Necklaces
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Jade, Cultured Pearl, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Drop Necklaces
Amethyst, Aquamarine, Citrine, South Sea Pearl, Rubelite, Blue Topaz, 18...
Early 2000s American Beaded Necklaces
Pearl, Diamond, Moonstone, Ruby, Tourmaline, Silver, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Contemporary Multi-Strand Necklaces
Garnet, Pearl, Hessonite, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Cuff Bracelets
Tourmaline, Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Citrine, 18k Gold
20th Century Cuff Bracelets
Amethyst, Diamond, Pearl, Peridot, Black Jade, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modern Cuff Bracelets
Agate, Citrine, Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Tourmaline, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Multi-Strand Necklaces
Diamond, Moonstone, Ruby, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Wrist Watches
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Italian Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Drop Necklaces
Pearl, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Chalcedony, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
Early 2000s Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Late 20th Century Clip-on Earrings
Chalcedony, Cultured Pearl
21st Century and Contemporary Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold, Platinum
2010s Italian Contemporary Modern Bracelets
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century American Beaded Necklaces
South Sea Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Emerald, Gold
1990s American Contemporary Beaded Necklaces
Emerald, 18k Gold
20th Century American Modern Bangles
Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s European Modern Bangles
18k Gold, Enamel
Vintage 1950s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Natural Pearl, Platinum
1990s French Cuff Bracelets
20th Century More Jewelry
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Bracelets
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Multi-Strand Necklaces
Moonstone, Pearl, 18k Gold
1990s American Clip-on Earrings
Onyx, Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Clip-on Earrings
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s French Retro Bracelets
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Clip-on Earrings
Cultured Pearl, Jade, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Beaded Bracelets
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Beaded Necklaces
Chalcedony, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Base Metal, Yellow Gold
Verdura Pearls For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Verdura Pearls?
Verdura for sale on 1stDibs
Fulco di Verdura (1898–1978) is not exactly a household name, except for those who know a thing or two about highly original, often eccentric handcrafted jewelry and, even more so, for those fortunate enough to own some. In that exclusive group, Verdura is regarded as the most gifted and coveted designer of his time.
Verdura was born in Sicily in 1898, the scion of a noble family related to the Lampedusas. (His cousin, Giuseppe di Lampedusa, wrote the great Italian saga The Leopard). His life was charmed from birth. Raised in his family’s villa, he grew up during a time when Sicily, and Palermo in particular, were meccas for well-born and highly cultured European travelers.
A bona fide duke with no clear ambitions but creative leanings aplenty (he could draw and paint), the young Verdura was part of the wandering social circuit — the so-called beau monde — that went from capital to capital, resort to resort.
Verdura, though small in stature, had that indefinable quality called charm. As a result, he was the life of every party he attended. When he finally started designing jewelry under Coco Chanel in the late 1920s, many of his friends became his clients (or received the pieces as gifts). Elsa Maxwell took him under her ample wing when she was hired to do public relations for the Lido in Venice and introduced him to the local and visiting cognoscenti. Chanel, whom he met in Venice, hired him to work in the textiles division of her fashion house. But it was his flair for jewelry that soon caught Coco’s eye. Eventually, he rose to become her personal designer of fine jewelry.
In 2002’s Verdura: The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler (Thames & Hudson), Vanity Fair’s Amy Fine Collins describes the sensation of wearing pieces by Verdura, who drew inspiration from nature for his signature gem-studded seashell brooches and honeybee earrings. “They were ingeniously calculated to flatter the wearer,” writes Collins. “Earrings undulated to complement the convolutions of an earlobe, rings seductively followed the phalanges of a finger, and necklaces gracefully traced the anatomy of the throat.”
In 1934, Verdura left Chanel and together with two friends, aspiring actress Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley and Baron Nicholas de Gunzburg, moved to the U.S. After several stops, he found a job through Diana Vreeland in Hollywood with Paul Flato, then the “jeweler to the stars.” Soon he was signing his work and helping Flato cultivate the crème de la creme of the silver screen — those both on it and behind it.
Verdura left Los Angeles for New York and opened his own salon, first on Fifth Avenue in 1939, just as World War II was beginning in Europe. His backers were Vincent Astor and Cole Porter, for whom he made bejeweled boxes and cigarette cases — gifts from Porter’s wife, Linda — to commemorate the opening nights of several musicals. Verdura began to expand both his repertoire — he became much more daring and flamboyant — and his clientele. The Duchess of Windsor, Daisy Fellowes, Greta Garbo and others routinely gave him commissions. In 1941, Verdura collaborated on a collection of six pieces with Salvador Dalí to accompany a Dalí exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Verdura retired in 1972 and left the care of the company to his partner, Joseph Alfano. He later moved to London, where he died in 1978 at the age of 79.
Among the most prized pieces on display in a 2014 Verdura jewelry exhibition in New York were Greta Garbo’s curb-link bracelet watch, which Verdura designed for her in 1939; Coco Chanel’s pair of Maltese Cross cuff bracelets (she wore one on each wrist); and Diana Vreeland’s duo of Byzantine brooches.
Find a range of authentic Verdura jewelry today on 1stDibs.